South Korea Biennale Restores ‘Taiwan Pavilion’ Name After Artists Protest

Taiwan’s exhibition at the 16th Gwangju Biennale will be named ‘Taiwan Pavilion’ after organizers reversed a decision to use an institutional acronym. The Gwangju Biennale Foundation had initially changed the name to ‘NTMoFA Pavilion,’ an abbreviation for the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. This change occurred after the name ‘Taiwan Pavilion’ had been consistently used throughout the project’s proposal and preparation phases.

• Taiwan’s exhibition at the 16th Gwangju Biennale will be called ‘Taiwan Pavilion’.
• Organizers reversed an earlier decision to use the acronym ‘NTMoFA Pavilion’.
• The name ‘Taiwan Pavilion’ was used during the project’s proposal, review, contracting, and preparations.
• The Gwangju Biennale Foundation had classified the Taiwanese museum as an institutional participant.
• The foundation did not state that Chinese pressure caused the name change.